Folds
by Hyper-Angela
Summary: Tamaki's finally come to his senses about Haruhi with a little help from Kyouya...but it seems Hikaru's going to beat him to her!
1. Chapter 1: The thought

Chapter One

Obviously, if I owned Host Club, this would have happened, and I would be reading these stories, not writing them, blah blah blah.

* * *

Once again, the doors opened to the third music room - to reveal a nighttime paradise.

Tamaki-kun, why is your face cast in such shadows?"

"Truly, shadow is the successor of the night, creeping towards us like a harmless creature, and yet revealing the true beauty of its subjects..." The king smiled, leaning closer to his female customer. "And yet, it does not take a shadow to reveal your true beauty, princess..."

The three girls squealed in delight.

"...is that the only thing he can come up with today?"

Kyouya scribbled something hastily on his notepad.

"Knowing the idiot, probably. Haruhi, don't you have customers of your own to attend to?"

"No. Hikaru and Kaoru stole them. They've found...oh, how do I say this...'new uses' for the fake reeds."

"I'll remember not to install those next time." He smiled.

"Speaking of which, how did you get all of this in here? It's pitch black, and you carted in a pond? And there's even stars on the ceiing!"

"It was Tamaki's request - although I'm not going to tell him it was Nekozawa who helped us set it up."

Haruhi sighed. "Don't be _too_ mean to him Kyouya-senpai."

"Haruhi-kun!" Two girls ran up to the "boy", seemingly beaming with happiness. "What do you like best about the night?"

Truthfully, the answer was "Nothing at all", but with a glance from Kyouya, she smiled at the girls.

"The stars - they always seem to be the prettiest things in the sky, and they continue to shine even when the moon doesn't."

The two blushed, whispering to each other. With a sigh, Haruhi reluctantly followed them back to watch more of the twin's antics.

Tamaki admired the room with Kyouya, shooing away his last customers.

"Well done, Kyouya, how did you manage to darken the room just as I requested?"

Kyouya adjusted his glasses. "Nekozawa."

The blonde turned pale and shrieked like a little girl.

"N-not -- Kyouya, don't you know how dangerous it is to mess with him?"

A familiar shadow passed over his shoulder.

"_Mess with who?_"

Nekozawa rose from behind him, toting his cat puppet as usual. The Host King jumped a foot and spun around to face the dark, robed figure.

"_You were right indeed...darkness is so truly beautiful, I applaud you for joining me so soon..."_

Tamaki quivered in fear, realizing what he had just done.

"Ah! Nekozawa-senpai!" The twins chorused. "Have you seen our...evil beams?"

They whipped out their flashlights and began to twirl them around like glowsticks.

Nekozawa screamed in pain, fleeing the room with cries of _"Evil beams!"_

"Hikaru! Kaoru! My saviours! Give your daddy a hug--"

"Oii, hands off, _tono. "_

"Look, you have some customers."

The blonde spun around to see three timid girls standing silently behind him.

"U-uh, we're you're next designations...

"Yes, yes, princess, shall we go?" He gestured, moving towards the pond.

* * *

Somehow, the entire room was transformed to its original state in a few hours, and the Host Club lounged around, discussing the events of the day.

Honey-senpai sat with Mori-senpai, a heaping load of cake sitting in front of him.

"That was kinda fun! It was like a slumber party!"

"Ah." Mori agreed, watching the tiny senior cram another forkful of cake into his mouth.

The twins, of course, were using Haruhi to tease Tamaki again.

"_Tono_, what's the matter?"

"MATTER?! You ask what's the matter when you are sexually harassing my daughter? -- Get back here, you theives! Scoundrels!" He took off after the twins, who both laughed and played along.

"Come on, you guys, don't you have something better to do?" Haruhi sighed, wiping the spit off her cheek.

"Not really." They laughed, diving for cover behind her as the blonde picked up a teacup and threatened to throw it.

"Tamaki. Hikaru. Kaoru. That's enough." Kyouya glared at the three. "You do not want to break that new shipment of china from France. Our customers would have to drink from the old Chinese ones, and you know what happened to those last month."

Tamaki gingerly placed the cup on a table and pondered aloud. "Speaking of customers...one of my own today was completely unaffected by anything."

"Oh, well _that's _a first." The twins joked.

"Quiet! This is serious! Kyouya!"

"You're correct." Kyouya whipped out a calculator. "If you can't get your act together, we could risk losing a chunk of our assets by how she affect her friends or other customers. This is also a major waste of your time."

""I don't even understand why she comes, though. It looks like she's been dragged along with her friends."

"But are her friends affected?"

"Of course!" He beamed. "I just can't find out how to charm her as easily as I charm her friends."

Honey-senpai gulped. "Cake! Why don't you give her cake, Tama-chan?"

"...I don't think that would work, Mitsukuni."

"If you're having problems, we could try her out." Hikaru suggested with a smile.

"No, she refuses to abandon her friends, and her friends refuse to request any other host." He shook his head.

Haruhi sighed. "Senpai..." Somehow she felt she was obligated to help this idiot.

"Yes?" Tamaki perked up.

"Not all girls like it when you say repetitive things like _it does not take a shadow to reveal your true beauty_, senpai." She recited with an apathetic look.

The twins snickered.

"You have to find what works for her - and her _only_." Haruhi added, seeing Tamaki's mouth begin to work on its own. "It will make her feel...special."

"B-b-but I tried everything! Absolutely nothing works on her!"

She rolled her eyes. "That probably made the situation worse."

The twins laughed again.

"But--"

"Somewhere, deep down inside, you have the right words for her. It can't be found in a book or a magical online database. You just have to find them."

"Beautiful! Very beautiful, Haruhi!" The twins hugged her from both sides. "Who knew you were so poetic?"

"Let go of me, please. It's not that big of a deal." She pulled herself out of their grip and headed towards the door. "If you'll excuse me, club time is over, and I need to study."

The twins grabbed her arms and smiled. "You can't leave just yet."

"Come on. I need to --"

"You can study later. You have to try on the new costume for tomorrow's club." Hikaru winked.

"The theme is 'crossdressing'." Kaoru laughed. "We found the perfect dress for you to wear."

"Haru-chan in a dress?" Honey-senpai jumped out of his chair. "What color? What color?"

"Light pink." Hikaru nudged his prisoner evilly.

"Nooo..." Haruhi cried as the twins dragged her out of the room.

"Haru-chan, you are going to be soooo cute!"

"Ah."

With that, the doors closed, and only the two second-years were left.

The old grandfather clock in the corner, near where the pond had been, filled the room with its characteristic sound. There was silence.

Kyouya was the first to speak.

"Tamaki."

Tamaki, whose eyes were still lingering on Haruhi's expression, seemed to break out of his wonderland with bursting energy.

"K-K-KYOUYA!!" He shouted, jumping to his feet, suddenly realizing what he had done. "What -- are you going to let those unscrupulous twins steal our daughter?! Who knows what they'll do!"

"If you had paid attention in the first place, they are in another room dressing her in feminine clothes. You could have gone with them, had you not been wandering in your thoughts."

Tamaki went to open his mouth, but stopped and pouted.

Kyouya turned to the window. "What are you going to do?"

"About what?"

"About Haruhi."

"What about Haruhi?"

Kyouya sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Might as well force it into him.

"Tamaki, you -- love Haruhi, don't you?"

"Kyouya!" The blonde turned, an obvious blush across his face. "How dare you say something like that -- a father and a daughter -- you're - you're just jealous!"

That was predicted.

"Tamaki, I would expect even an idiot like you to realize that I do i NOT /i get jealous, and most i certainly /i not over YOU." He glared.

Tamaki gulped.

"I - I - But I only love her as her father should!"

"Do you really buy all of that 'father' act, Tamaki?"

Silence. Maybe it was starting to work.

"I'm sure you know that for someone to be a father, they must either have contributed genetic material, or have legally adopted a child from the state. "

More silence.

"But..." The blonde muttered, swimming in his own thoughts. "I thought..."

As much as he hated to admit it, Kyouya was usually right, and never more so than now. Did he really love her? He had always thought of himself of a 'father figure', but was that - was that really true? At times it didn't seem that way, and he knew it. Was it really all an act? How come he wasn't informed earlier? Was it really that easy to see through him -- was he really that stupid?

"You thought?"

Tamaki snapped out of it, still immersed in his own thoughts.

"I --" He stuttered. "I..." The words wouldn't escape his mouth, but Tamaki heard it inside his mind-- "I love her. You're right." His heart throbbed painfully, and yet, it felt lighter than it had before.

Kyouya seemed to pick up on this, and continued. "And? What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know." The blonde looked down at his feet, muttering these words quickly to avoid his spreading blush.

"You really _are _an idiot." Kyouya sighed. "I'd say, besides you, Haruhi is the only other person completely oblivious."

Instead of the usual series of retorts, Tamaki looked at his feet, still contemplating.

"You haven't notice your own feelings, I shouldn't expect you to notice her feelings as well."

"But I---"

"Don't get me wrong. Although you have your moments -- " Tamaki perked up. "You still need me, of all people, to point out the obvious."

"But Haruhi...she..." It was hard enough for him to understand, let alone state it to the air. He blushed at the thought of her feelings, silently returning his own under his nose. Tamaki covered his deepening red face with one hand, flustered and increasingly nervous. Numerous images filled his mind, of all the times she could have been trying to get his attention.

_I've overlooked this?_

"Tamaki." Kyouya interrupted loudly. "Need I repeat my original question?"

The Host King composed himself, looking up to his friend, smiling gently.

"I...I understand."

"Then you understand what you need to do."

Tamaki muttered a "Yes" under his breath. He paused to think -- wonderful thoughts, carefully choreographed, perfectly executed, his lips moving in the way he always imagined them. He immersed himself in the way she would respond, exactly how he expected, and they would embrace...their eyes locked for a few brief seconds until...

"Do not let your emotions carry you away." Kyouya turned towards the window, apparently sensing his excitement from across the room. "Even someone like you should know the difference between dreams and the harsh reality you have always denied."

For once, it seemed that the blonde truly understood, though he cringed at the frost on the last sentence.

_Somewhere, deep down inside, you have the right words for her._

Yes, she had said that, hadn't she? Just as each fangirl at his feet was different, Haruhi was too - and if he could find the right words for her, would it make all the difference?

Somewhere in the distance, a bell began to ring.

"Tamaki." Kyouya moved from the window, crossing the room to the pair of embellished doors. "Every moment you spend contemplating these things is another moment of club time wasted."

The host king, still deep in thought, stretched his arms and wandered silently towards Kyouya.

"Actually...I was thinking of leaving early. You wouldn't ..." He paused, seeing Kyouya's eyes rolling. "...mind, would you?"

The dark lord adjusted his glasses and smiled evilly.

"Very well...if it's that important. I'll just add the loss of profit to Haruhi's debt."

He watched Tamaki slowly and quietly make his way down the hall, hands in his pockets. It was hard to believe it had worked.

"...that wasn't a good idea, was it?" He sighed.


	2. Chapter 2: The interruption

Chapter 2

Ouran doesn't belong to me, duh.

* * *

As Kyouya had predicted, there was no progress between the two during the next week. The twins continued to tease Haruhi, but Tamaki didn't seem to be able to do anything anymore. As a matter of fact, he was completely useless as long as Haruhi was around him. Kyouya had managed to solve this problem temporarily by relocating Tamaki to one side of the room, and Haruhi to the other, but it was very obvious to everyone that something was drastically different.

However, none of his fangirls seemed to care, and took the dreamy and confused look on his face as something to fantasize about.

_"Tamaki-sama has such a cute look on his face..." _

_ "He always has a cute look on his face!" _

_ "Oh no, Tamaki-sama, I could never accept such a proposal..."_

The twins looked on in disgust.

"Kyouya, just spill it."

"Yeah, what did you do to _tono_?"

"Nothing. We just had a little chat, that's all."

"Kyouya, a little 'chat' with you means a lot..."

Kyouya smiled evilly. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard what you just said."

"...never mind, Kyouya-senpai. We'll just go bug Haruhi."

The twins waltzed off to the other corner of the room, as Kyouya looked over his shoulder at Tamaki. Apparently the very mention of her name made him lose all sense of consciousness.

"Tamaki, you still have customers, and even though I appreciate your ability to entertain them without doing anything, I would very much like it if you started showing some effort."

The blonde snapped out of it for a short second.

"Kyouya, did you say something?"

"Yes, I did, Tamaki. Customers. In front of you. **Now**."

"O-oh." He laughed nervously. "Right."

The three girls in front of him giggled along with him.

The twins, already busy with Haruhi, decided to try something for themselves.

"Oii, Haruhi..." Hikaru nudged the 'boy', "Since Kyouya-senpai won't tell us what's up with _tono_ ..."

"...we're going to do a little experiment."

Haruhi sighed.

"Just don't involve _me_ in it."

"Oh, no, no, no, Ha-ru-hi." Kaoru smiled evilly. "You're the key part of the experiment."

"You see, something's going on between you and _tono_..."

"...and you're going to help us find out what it is." They grabbed her by the arms and led her across the room.

"Come on, guys, I'm busy over here and -- hey! _Let go of me_!"

"_Tono, tono_!"

"Please, guys, let go of me, you really shouldn't, Kyouya-senpai said --"

Before she was able to finish her sentence, they practically threw her body towards him, and abandoned her to the awkwardness that would soon fall upon her.

Tamaki turned to the twin's call right as Haruhi stopped smack in front of him.

"Ah--" She put her hands up in front of her, as if making some sort of shield to protect her from his reaction, but Tamaki just froze.

"_Reaction discovered!_" The twins chorused.

"...Tamaki-senpai..." Haruhi blinked, taking a few steps back from the blonde, who suddenly began hyperventilating and turning a very deep shade of red. The girls in front of him gathered close to each other and watched hungrily.

He seemed to overload with the amount of thoughts and shock pouring into his head, and the host king fell to his side onto the sofa. The girl next to him, who he had fallen onto, proceeded to do the same.

"_Ohhhhhhh_! " The twins high-fived each other. "_A development!_"

Haruhi stood there, perplexed at what had just happened. She knew he had been acting strangely, but she didn't know that it had to do with her...did it?

"You guys, that was cruel." She shook her head, scolding the twins, who claimed to have no part in it.

"It was just an experiment, Haruhi...and look what we found out from it!"

Instead of trying to argue with them, she intelligently decided to shake her head and return to her designations.

"Kyouya-senpai...what exactly _did_ you do to Tamaki-senpai?"

* * *

When the day was over, only the two second-years were left in the clubroom , an awkward silence enveloping them. Kyouya rustled some of the papers in front of him and turned his head towards Tamaki.

"Tamaki, you've been doing too much thinking."

The blonde was curled up on a couch in a corner, in his usual fetal position, head down in deep thought. He looked up at Kyouya hesitantly.

"Kyouya..." He sighed, suddenly remembering something, and then began a loud outburst of energy.

"I, I was so awkward today! Horrible! I mean, it didn't seem to have a bad effect on my designations, but I, Haruhi, she...I can't stop thinking about her! I can't stop thinking about 'that'! I want to tell her, but I just freeze up if I see her. And she, she was so suddenly _there_ today, I...Kyouya, I --"

"Tamaki, do me a favor and shut up." Kyouya coolly answered. "You won't be able to do this, but please calm down. It's already been a week, I would have expected you to have calmed down at least a little bit."

"K-K-K-Kyouya!" He gasped, shaking his head. Apparently he couldn't find words to describe what he was trying to say, and returned to looking at his feet, breathing heavier than before.

"So, enlighten me on what plans you would have to deal with your little...problem." Kyouya blinked, turning a page in the customer register.

A short pause.

"...I was planning...on..." Tamaki started, shriveling up into the fetal position and blushing slightly. "...finding her at some time when she was alone...and suggest that, maybe, if she wanted to, we could do something out of school...or..."

"So, you have nothing so far."

"I don't know how to go about it...I've never had to do this before...and...Haruhi..."

Kyouya glanced over his shoulder.

"Why don't you just tell her the truth?"

"W...wha?" The blonde blinked, uncurling slightly.

"She's more receptive than you'd think, and Haruhi has always been a rather blunt and straightforward person, right?"

"...that does make sense!" Tamaki smiled, suddenly filling with energy once again. "You're right! Haruhi _is_ like that! ..."

Hikaru stood by the door, listening to the two going back and forth. He couldn't lie - he was angry. Partially at himself, for not having the courage to go to Haruhi; and partially at Tamaki, just from sheer jealousy. He'd suspected Kyouya had been up to something, and was was right. So Kyouya really _was_ on Tamaki's side...

"Something bothering you?"

Hikaru nearly jumped out of his skin and turned to face the intruder. It was Kaoru.

"Don't scare me like that!" He whispered.

"Sorry, Hikaru..." Kaoru smiled. "What are you doing?"

"...nothing." He muttered.

"The look on your face just gives it away." Kaoru leaned back against the wall. "You've been eavesdropping on Kyouya and _tono_ , right?"

Hikaru turned away from his twin.

"So? Was it what you thought?"

"...yes. Kyouya told _tono_ ."

Kaoru smiled gently. "It wasn't too hard to tell, was it?"

"No." Hikaru turned back to the door and leaned against it with one arm. "If I ever want to get closer to Haruhi, I'm going to have to tell her soon... _tono _is slow, but with Kyouya finally helping him, I've got no choice...but..."

His calmer brother patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go home already. Haruhi already went home, and you can be sure that _tono_ is too much of an idiot to do anything today."

Hikaru reluctantly stepped away from the door and followed his brother out.

"...I just hope that Haruhi hasn't developed anything for him..."

* * *

The next day, unfortunately, club had to be canceled thanks to a nasty bout of the flu going around. To prevent any more customers coming down with it, instead of hosting as usual, the Host Club decided to laze around the Third Music Room.

It was abnormally quiet for a Friday afternoon, when the clubroom was normally buzzing with customers. The hosts lay draped over the furniture, obviously bored. Honey was taking a nap in the far corner, and Mori sat close by, reading a book. Kyouya was fiddling with the registry, making changes that he couldn't do in his spare time, and Tamaki was sitting in a corner, as usual, just thinking. He must have come up with something, because he suddenly sat up, nodded to himself, and walked across the room to Kyouya.

"Kyouya..." Tamaki cocked his head to one side. "Where's Haruhi?"

"In the library, studying for her history test." He mumbled between writing notes. "You really shouldn't --"

"I see, I see!" He grinned, blushing slightly. "Well, I think I'm going to see if she could use my help."

Kyouya looked up, half annoyed, half pleased, and nodded. The blonde host winked, then walked out of the room.

It was quiet for a few moments after the door slammed, but then Kyouya seemed to remember something as well.

"Kaoru, where's Hikaru?"

"Ah..." The twin looked up. "He went to the library to talk to Haruhi."

They looked at each other for a second, then realized what had just happened.

"_Oh, no._"

* * *

Haruhi looked up from her textbook to see Hikaru standing over her. He waved.

"Hey."

"Hikaru?" She cocked her head. "Where's Kaoru?"

"He's back in the music room." Hikaru sighed, putting one hand on the table and leaning on it.

"Is the library usually this empty?" He asked.

"Not really. They've all gone home since it's a Friday...and seeing as I don't get picked up until club time is over, I might as well spend it here.

"It's quiet, though." Haruhi smiled, evoking a blush from the twin next to her. "I can concentrate here."

He looked away, trying to distract himself from her cute expression. She turned back to her book and flipped a page. A few seconds went by, in agonizing silence for Hikaru. Finally, he sighed, gathering his courage, and spoke.

"Say, Haruhi...you know that date we went on? In Karuizawa?"

"Yeah." She muttered, not even looking up.

"Did...did you have fun?"

"Apart from you _abandoning me_ halfway through, yeah, I did have a lot of fun."

Hikaru flinched. This _was_ Haruhi he was talking to.

"Well, would you, I dunno, want to go on another one with me? I don't know if you're free this weekend, but if you are..."

"Sure." She looked up and smiled. "That sounds great."

He blushed again, but rebounded quickly.

"Oh, well that's great! Are, are you free this weekend?"

"Yes and no." She closed the book in front of her. "I've got a lot of homework to do, and the usual household chores, but I should be able to get most of it done before noon, so we could hang out after that."

"That sounds good." Hikaru smiled, feeling triumphant. Haruhi seemed as apathetic as ever.

"So, what would you want to do then?" She asked.

Hikaru went to say something, but was interrupted by a loud call from behind the library doors.

_"Haruhi!"_

The twin cursed under his breath. Just when he thought he was safe. If Tamaki was here for _that_, then his chances were over. He needed to think fast.

Haruhi looked up, towards the voice.

"Sen-"

The girl went to call out to Tamaki, but found her mouth previously occupied by Hikaru's - right as the blonde peeked in.

"H-Haruhi?"

* * *

Cliffhanger! ;;

Wow, that took a long time to get out of me... I've been anime-less since November, as my hard drive broke, and I never got around to fixing it...and, of course, you can't really avoid what school dumps upon you around finals time. The next chapter should be up quicker than this. -- Please review, all positive comments are greatly appreciated:3


	3. Chapter 3: The confession

Chapter 3

I don't own Host Club...

* * *

There was absolute silence in the room. Haruhi's eyes darted to the blonde, seemingly so far away from her, and back to the face so close in front of her. When her eyes flicked back, the door had closed with a soft _click_.

Finding herself still in Hikaru's kiss, she pushed herself away in disgust. The twin looked back at her, somewhat dazed and confused - moreso by the fact that he had just realized he had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

A wave of emotions swelled from deep inside her, and Haruhi backhanded Hikaru across the face.

"H-Haruhi?"

_"How dare you!" _She yelled, suddenly full of rage. Haruhi had no idea where it was coming from, nor why a simple kiss would evoke such a violent reaction, but she had no time to think about her feelings rationally.

_"Why the hell would you do that?! Are you thinking straight?" _She felt angry tears swelling up in her cheeks. She took a breath, holding them back as hard as she could.

"H...Haruhi, I'm sorry..." Hikaru tried to apologize.

"_I'm sorry?_" She shouted. "That's all you can come up with? I mean, seriously, _why would you do that?_"

"I wasn't thinking!" He blurted out, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"What made you think it was alright to do that? _Especially_ knowing someone like _him_ is walking in the door! You, you're such a..." She cut off, not allowing herself to say the hurtful things coming to mind. Instead, Haruhi shot him an angry look, and stormed off.

Hikaru stood in shock for a second, lifting his fingers to his throbbing cheek. For a second, he thought it was all a dream, then realized as the door slammed, that his luck had run out.

He slammed his fists onto the table.

_"Dammit!"_

* * *

The hosts turned yet again to the sound of opening doors, except they found a rather wounded Haruhi on the other side. 

"_Haruhi!"_ They breathed, jumping out of their seats.

"Haruhi, what happened?"

"What happened to Tama-chan?" Honey set aside his cake. This meant it was serious.

Kyouya looked the most worried out of all of them.

"Tell us what happened, now."

Haruhi looked up, her face obviously on the verge of tears. Seeing their surprised looks, she shook it off and looked up.

"...where's Tamaki-senpai?"

"He's in the other room. But first, tell us what happened."

"He came in here and didn't say a word, just stormed off. What happened back there?"

The girl paused and rubbed at her face, a twisting feeling in her stomach.

_Something's not right with me..._

"...Tamaki-senpai saw Hikaru and I kissing."

"_**WHAT!?**_" They shouted back in union.

"It wasn't my fault!" She cut in. "I was...just sitting there, when Hikaru walks in. He talked for a bit and then asked if I was free over the weekend. Said he wanted to go shopping with me, like we did back in Karuizawa..."

Kaoru cursed silently. That idiot, he knew he'd go about it the wrong way.

"I didn't think of it as much, so I said yes, and then Hikaru started acting all funny. I heard Tamaki-senpai's voice through the doors, and when I went to call out to him...he kissed me."

"And you say Tamaki saw you?"

"...yeah." Her stomach twisted even tighter. Why did she feel like this was so wrong?

_Well, anyone would be hurt to see something like that...wouldn't they?_

There was an awkward silence for a moment, as Haruhi looked towards the ground in silent thought.

"I think you should talk to him, Haru-chan." Honey smiled.

"Ah." Mori agreed.

Haruhi looked up, seemingly confused.

"I'm sure the last person he wants to see right now is me..."

"You're wrong." Kyouya commented. "You're probably the only person he wants to see right now. He won't talk to us, and certainly not Hikaru either."

"But..." Haruhi mumbled. "I was the one who hurt him..."

"Look, Haruhi, just go." Kaoru smiled, standing up and leading her towards the door.

"Whether you know it or not, Haru-chan..." Honey giggled. "Tama-chan really likes you a lot!"

Haruhi's stomach twisted tighter than it ever had, and she gripped her fists out of nervousness.

_Why am I more anxious than before?_ She asked herself. _Why do I suddenly care so much?_

With that, she smiled to the rest of the members in the room, and gingerly opened the door and disappeared.

A sound came from the other side of the music room, as the door slowly swung open. Kaoru intercepted the intruder before he had a chance to meet the hostile looks facing him.

_"We need to talk."_ He whispered.

* * *

It was abnormally dark inside the second chamber of the music room. It had an air of loneliness about it - for such a large room, most of the furniture was covered with a white plastic sheet, and the curtains were drawn shut. Props were lain back in a corner, gathering dust until they were needed next. A single couch stood in the middle of the room, the cover haphazardly thrown off it, and a blonde head just barely peeking over the edge of it. 

Haruhi gulped and clutched her stomach, which was fluttering about. She felt so guilty, for hurting him like this..but it wasn't her fault.

_Then why do I feel like I'm about to cry?_

"Um..." She mumbled. "T...Tamaki-senpai..."

The blonde barely moved from his position.

"I...I'm sorry, for what you saw earlier. I..." She sighed, finding the right words. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen. It, it's not how it looks..."

The figure shifted slightly, but still said nothing.

"The truth is...I was trying to study quietly, and Hikaru came up to me and asked if I wanted to see him this weekend, and when I said yes--"

"So it is how it looks." A mumbled reply came from behind the blonde locks.

"No, it's not!" She shouted abruptly. "I...I never meant it like _that_! And just out of the blue, he, he..." She blushed. "I never wanted to kiss him."

Suddenly, Tamaki stood up, but refused to turn to her.

"Then why did you just let it happen?" His voice quavered.

"I didn't! It happened so fast, dammit, I couldn't _stop it!"_

"You could have at least _tried to!_"

"I told you, even if I did, I -- " She shouted angrily, the feeling in her stomach growing stronger with every word. "_And why do you care so much anyways, senpai?_"

"Because I'm your --" He stopped, mid sentence, about to spit out the same words that saved him from the truth each time. But he couldn't bring himself to it. He turned ever so slightly, just so out of the corner of his eye, he could see her just standing there, affected just as bad as he was.

"Because what, Tamaki-senpai?_ Because what?"_

_"Because..._I...I just want..." The words wouldn't come out of his mouth. It was hopeless. He could already feel the tears streaming down his face just from the sheer anger and jealousy he was forced onto.

Tamaki said nothing else, just covered his face with one hand. He didn't have the courage.

"Enough." He breathed, taking a few ginger steps towards the door - towards Haruhi. "I'm going...I'm going home."

Haruhi stood, unmoving, as the blonde walked slowly by her, unflinching, trying his best to ignore her presence. She let her eyes flit up to his face for a brief moment, just to see if he had any sort of reaction. She was surprised to see him so upset, not his usual pouty face, or dramatic reaction to something small. As he passed, she saw _real tears _streaming down his face. He wasn't faking this time. And somehow, just barely, something stirred within her, and she couldn't let him go.

_Tamaki-senpai..._

_"Tamaki!"_ She shouted, grabbing his arm and spinning to face him. He froze in his tracks and cast a look over his shoulder.

_W-what did she call me?!_

"T...Tamaki...?" She whispered. _Why don't I know what I want to do?_

There was an uneasy silence, as they exchanged looks of confusion and comprehension.

Feeling the tears swelling up in his eyes, Tamaki flushed and embraced her. He held her tight against his body, heart racing, feeling her chest rising and falling against his own.

"I'm not your father..." He confessed, breathing the words in her ear. "I like you. I really like you a lot. In fact, I think I'm in _love_ with you. I could _never_ treat any other girl I know like you, Haruhi. I...I regret not having told you earlier...when my heart just ached for you whenever you pushed me away."

Haruhi gulped, blushing and slowly wrapping her own arms around him. "Sen..."

"I was approaching you entirely the wrong way...for so long. You aren't like anyone I've ever known; so different...and yet..." He blinked away a tear. "I've been in love with you from the start."

He paused and took a breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm j-just rambling on and on again..."

To his surprise, she held him tighter than before, finding his feelings enough to recognize her own. Everything was coming together - why she felt so terrible after what had happened, why even before that she sensed something was different between them...it was coming from inside her all along.

_I knew he was respectable and a good person...but did I ...did I really fall in love with him?_

_I__did_

"Thank you, senpai..." She whispered, clutching at him and smiling softly. "Thank you, for everything..."

At these words, the blonde blushed, pulling himself closer to the girl he loved again. Without thinking, he kissed the top of her head lightly out of affection. Her grip loosened. She looked up, tears in her eyes, and an embarrassed smile on her face.

"S-s-sorry, Haruhi...I didn't, if you don't like it..."

"N-no, don't apologize, it's..." She blushed. "It's...okay..."

The two looked at each other for a second, silently contemplating the awkward smiles on their faces, the redness of their faces. Tamaki brought his hand up from his embrace, and placed it on her cheek, brushing away a tear and a lock of her hair that had fallen out of the carefully combed bangs.

Haruhi looked deep into his violet eyes and discovered a new desire that threatened to break her apart from the inside. Her cheeks and lips tingled...she returned his previous gesture by ruffling the blonde hair that fell down the back of his neck. He shivered, but smiled. Somehow his face was growing nearer to her own...

His eyes opened wide in total shock and surprise, as she pulled her head to face him and placed her lips on his. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming once again, but just looking down at the girl in front of him, he knew it was real...nothing like this would ever happen in a fantasy. And so, realizing that he was indeed kissing Haruhi, he kissed her back like never before.

Haruhi was slightly startled to see him so passionate, at just what was supposed to be a simple kiss...and yet, she didn't want to stop. It filled her with fire, with energy that was suddenly unearthed, waves of happiness that fluttered down her entire body.

_I...I'm really in love._

She gasped slightly, just pausing to breathe, and ran her fingers through his hair, clutching every strand lovingly. Tamaki kissed her over and over again, tears again streaming down his face, as if he'd never get another moment like this. Finally, he looked into her eyes, which were now vibrant with energy, and he pulled her head close to his chest.

"_I...I love you."_ He whispered, nuzzling into the top of her head, smelling the warm fragrance of her hair.

"Tamaki..." She smiled, and pulled away from his tight embrace to look into his eyes again. Haruhi laughed nervously and put her forehead to his and leaned forward slowly.

"H-Haruhi, I'm --"

_Crash._SNAP.

_"Se-senpai!?"_

(line)

"Oh no, Tamaki-sama, your finger!"

"What happened?"

"Oh, this?" The blonde grinned, somewhat more energetic than the week before. "It's nothing really, just a little break, that's all."

"A break?!"

"How did you hurt it?"

"I tripped over one of the coverings for the furniture quite clumsily...but, don't worry my princess! For as long as I have you, I can be happy...isn't that right?"

The girl blushed and took his extended hand. "Yes, yes, we can be happy..."

Haruhi looked over from where she was sitting to the newly entertained customer.

_I'm glad he took my advice._

"H-Haruhi-kun?"

"Ah, yes?"

"Well...we were going to ask you about this..."

"What is it?"

"Um, you tell him."

The gaggle of girls pushed forward a cute-looking freshmen towards the 'boy'. She carried a rectangular package in her hands.

"W-well, it's about this...v-video..."

"What video?"

The girls giggled and squealed in delight with their secret. Haruhi blinked, realizing the situation, and glanced angrily at Kyouya.

"Kyouya-senpai...you wouldn't have anything to do with this."

"I just put it up for sale. If you have problems with the filming, talk to Renge. She's the one who installed video cameras in the host room."

"_WHAT?!"_

"I have no control over what she tapes. I just decide what's profitable." He scribbled something down, smirking slightly. "Besides, thanks to you and Tamaki, we may be able to have record profits this quarter."

"B-b-b-but---!!" She shouted, feeling herself begin to blush. "_Kyouya-senpai, that was a private mom--"_

Haruhi found herself cut off by the sudden swarm of girls asking about her current "situation" with Tamaki. She shouted something indistinguishable to Kyouya, but he shook his head and turned away, leaving her to deal with the mess. From across the room, there was a squeal from a different crowd, and a blonde figure fell to the ground, violently twitching. Renge, of course, was part of that crowd, and gossiping loudly to all who would listen.

Haruhi scowled and screamed in frustration.

"_DAMN, RICH BASTARDS!!!"_

* * *

Well, that's it. I may do a little add-on chapter to detail what exactly went on in the video [just to satisfy my own fangirl needs here. and maybe yours ;) ...or clean up the conclusion if I feel it needs a little more clearing up. :) 

_Review, please!_ This is really my first fanfic...I'd love to hear your opinions! Thanks to everyone who watched and favorited this! It means a _lot!_ :3

Angela


	4. Extra Chapter: Mad Director

Extra Chapter for Folds

I still don't own Ouran... ;;

(line)

_"Kyouya-senpai, I said I'm __not__ doing this!"_

The host just pushed his glasses a little further up his nose and smiled.

"Although you have only a little debt remaining, thanks to that last video, just remember that I've given you way too many breaks in the past."

Haruhi sighed angrily. How had she gotten herself into this?

"If you're asking yourself how you got into this, don't turn to me." Kyouya said, reading her mind. "It's Renge who distributed the video. And taped it."

"And just where did the cameras come from, then?"

"I installed them to capture pictures for the photo collections we release."

_...That would explain a lot,_ she thought.

The brown-haired 'boy' turned to look at Tamaki, who was cowering in a corner, nervously reading the lines that Renge had churned out. He mouthed the words silently, then gasped and blushed slightly. After the whole incident with the video of his confession, he'd drawn back into his shell slightly, and it took a lot of effort to persuade him to spend time alone with her again. He was probably more embarrassed about the whole ordeal being caught on tape, rather than angry that Kyouya had sold the information that was supposed to be kept a secret.

"You guys better hurry up. Renge is almost here."

Haruhi turned back to Kyouya with a pleading frown.

"Do we _have_ to? It's so..." She grumbled exasperatedly. "Don't you think you've embarrassed us enough?"

"No." He stated, an evil smile coming over his face. "Besides, this is partially payback for the stress Tamaki made me go through."

Haruhi was about to object when a bouncy, completely _moe_-driven girl burst through the doors.

_"I'M HERE!"_ Renge shouted, sporting an outfit as bright and energetic as herself. Upon sighting the two hosts, she squealed something inhuman and flounced over to them.

_"I didn't know you two were going out!"_

"We're not."

"They're not."

Kyouya and Haruhi blurted out in unison. Haruhi turned to Kyouya, who nodded and spoke for her.

"It's simply an act to generate revenue for the club, seeing as the customers enjoyed the last one so much.

"Kyaa!!" Renge grinned. "It was just _too beautiful_! I was so moved, I ate five bowls of rice!!"

Haruhi sighed in disbelief and turned back to the embarrassing script. The sooner this was over, the better.

(line)

Most of the taping went well, except for a few blunders on Tamaki's part. The script was admittedly horrible, and would only be appreciated by raving fangirls. Haruhi had to stop twice to avoid ruining a scene with a laugh or an exasperated groan. With the end of the taping coming up, both should have been excited to escape the cameras - but the dreaded _kiss scene_ Renge had pulled off some fan-fiction site was looming over their heads like a dense storm cloud.

_"Alright! Cameras are set, let's go!"_

Tamaki's quivering hand held a notecard with a few lines on it. His eyes flicked between it and Haruhi's face as he tried desperately not to anger Renge.

"Haruhi...y-you are the l-love of my life, and I-I would do anything for y-you..."

"Oh, Tamaki-kun." Haruhi mumbled in a monotone.

"If o-only I could grace your l-l-...lips just w-once...lean in to kiss her..." Tamaki squinted at the card.

_"YOU IDIOT!" _Renge shouted, smacking Tamaki over the head with some kind of fan. "You don't_ read_ that part, you _act_ it!"

"O...oh." He muttered, smiling sheepishly. Haruhi blushed and put a hand to her face.

_"Let's try this again. TAKE TWO!"_

"If o-only I could grace your l-lips just ...just w-once..." Tamaki squeezed his eyes tight shut and barely touched his lips to Haruhi's, then pulled back and looked at Renge, who hit him with the fan again.

_"You call that a KISS?!" _She moaned. Tamaki whimpered and shriveled away.

"B...b-but, R-Renge-chan..."

_"Kiss him, KISS HIM! TAKE THREE!"_

Tamaki glanced at Haruhi like a puppy dog that had been abused for too long. She sighed, blushing slightly, and nodded.

"Just do it so we can get out of here."

"O-okay."

_"ACTION!"_

"If only I c-could grace your l-lips ... just w...just once, Haruhi..." The blonde leaned in dangerously close, tearful eyes inches away from hers, and attempted to kiss her passionately but with some restraint.

She gulped and tried to control him quivering body from collapsing on her by placing her hands strategically on his lower back and shoulder. Haruhi felt herself shudder slightly, not having gotten a kiss like this since back then...

With her shudder, she lost her tight grip on his shoulder and he slipped forwards and accidentally licked her cheek. Tamaki, of course, turned bright red.

"S-s-s-sorry, H-Haruhi!!" He apologized as she rubbed the spit off with her shoulder. Renge screeched.

"_THAT WAS SO GOOD! AND YOU RUINED IT!" _She shouted angrily, whacking Tamaki over and over again with the fan. The second-year cried and retreated to a corner when the brutal attacks were over.

"Haruhi." Renge pouted. "Seeing as you're the smarter of the two of you..." She glared at Tamaki, who picked at the staple in his script nervously. "You pick the way that would be best suited for you to do this. Apparently this standing-up business is difficult."

"Oh...okay." Haruhi shrugged off the almost perverted images in her head. "Then, would you like us, um, sitting down or something?"

"Oh, that's brilliant, _brilliant!_" Renge nodded furiously. "You can sit over there, on that couch...but that means I have to rewrite some parts so there won't be any disconnection between the two scenes..."

"What? Does that mean we have to reshoot _everything?_"

"No. Just the last scene leading up to it." Renge snatched the script out of Haruhi's hand and jotted something down. "Bring _him_ over here and we'll try and figure this out."

_I just want to go home..._ Haruhi pouted, calling the sulking blonde over to endure more of Renge's punishment.

(line)

After a hasty rewrite of the script, Haruhi found herself trying to stay calm as Renge and Kyouya discussed the tortuous scene for the last time. She looked over to Tamaki, whose eyes seemed glazed over with tears. He pressed his hands together nervously and tapped his fingers against his knees..

"Senpai..." Haruhi smiled, watching him suddenly jump, then turn his head to her.

"Y-yes?"

"Don't worry about this too much, okay?"

"O-okay!" He agreed, but still obviously shaken.

_"Alright!!"_ Renge shouted, crossing over to the pair with her hands on her hips. "Kyouya and I finally worked out the part, and it looks like we don't need any more changes other than what we discussed before."

The two nodded as Renge dragged the camera over and focused it.

"Get into position, now. Haruhi-kun, tilt your head more to the right. No, my right. Tamaki, stay how you are. _No_, I said, _stay how you are!_ There, good. Don't move." She pressed the dreaded _record_ button and smiled evilly.

"_ACTION!!"_

"H-Haruhi, you are the l-...love of m-my life...and I would do an-anything for you...""Oh, Tamaki-kun."

"If o, if only I could grace your...your lips j-just once..." He leaned in. Haruhi closed her eyes. Renge restrained herself from squealing, but wielded her fan anyways.

_DINGALINGALING...DINGALINGALING._

"Oh." Kyouya swiftly reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello? Yes. I'm busy. I said I'm _busy_. Yes, I'm at school."

Haruhi had to keep Tamaki from coming any closer by pushing him away with her hand, sighing. It wasn't his fault this time, but Renge looked madder than before...

"_KYOOOOUYAAAAA!"_ She shrieked. "You said you _turned OFF_ your phone!"

"Sh." He put a single finger up, walking out of the room. "I know, I know, I can't deal with it right now, I'm busy..." His voice trailed off as the door closed behind him.

"Hmph." The 'director' followed him out with her glaring eyes, before turning to the two. "Let's try it _again_ now. AC--"

"Renge-chan, Renge-chan --" Haruhi interrupted. "Can we just...stop for a while? I mean, it's not like it's working right now, and I - we'd kind of like a break."

"But we're almost _done!!_"

"Renge-chan, please..." She tried to smile through her unending pain and anger. It came out as some sort of sickly grimace.

"Hmph." Renge pouted again, turning quickly on her heel and leaving. "Fine, have a half-hour break or something. But you _better be ready when I get back_!!'

"Yes, Renge."

The 'director' stormed out of the room, grabbing a black laptop, and slammed the door behind her.

Finally, silence.

Well, maybe _finally _was the wrong word. The silence quickly turned into something awkward and unbearable, as both of them acted like rocks, refusing to move.

"...senpai?"

He seemed to be jolted out of his stupor and turned to her.

"Y-y-y-yes?"

Haruhi looked up into his terrified eyes, then averted her gaze, casting her eyes down towards her feet. _God dammit, he's cute even when he's terrified. _

She felt his hand gently rest on hers. There was another awkward silence.

"...Haruhi..." He whispered, blushing heavily. The blonde turned his eyes away for a brief second, then looked at her with puppy-dog eyes that screamed "Haru--hi! I want a kiss!!".

Haruhi smiled and touched her lips to his. Tamaki wrapped his arms around her, slowly, and the kiss became more heated and desperate. They fell over onto each other, seemingly forgetting that the red light on the camera was steadily blinking.

It was going to be a very quiet afternoon.

Or so Renge thought.

Filming had finished without a hitch, but the ultra-director had omitted the kiss scene, much to the "couple's" suprise. It was less stress on the actors, and everyone was finally allowed to go home.

Only two hours after it was announced on the club's website, the video had already sold over two hundred copies, with girls from all over Japan and even the world pre-ordering "Forbidden Shocking Lovely Host Club Romance!".

Needless to say, there were a few people that were not amused.

"Ha...ru...hi..." The red-haired crossdresser barged into Haruhi's room holding a foreboding package in his hand. "What is the meaning of _this?!_"

The female host would have a lot of explaining to do...


End file.
